Distinguished Majors Program

The Department of Politics offers a Distinguished Majors Program (DMP) as an advanced program for students who major in Government or Foreign Affairs. The program provides qualified majors with the opportunity to pursue in-depth research on issues related to the major. Students in the DMP take one more upper-level course in the Department than other majors and write a thesis under close faculty supervision during the year in which they are graduating (typically their fourth year). Participants in the program meet regularly throughoutthat year to discuss progress on their theses.

The standards for admission, program requirements, and the procedure for evaluation are outlined below.

Informational Meeting

Potential applicants are invited but not required to attend an informational meeting about the program at 5 pm on Monday, March 12, 2018 in Room 342, Nau Hall.

Admission to the Program

Unless they intend to graduate early, students apply to the program in the spring of the third year. Students wishing to join the program should first declare a major in the Department, either in Government or Foreign Affairs. Students seeking admission to the DMP should be on track to graduate with Departmental and University grade point averages of 3.4 or above.

Students are encouraged to complete a research methods course, such as PLAD 2222 or PLAP 4300, before the start of the DMP year. Applicants who have completed or enrolled in such a course by the time of their application will be given preference in the selection process.

DMP application materials should be emailed to Prof. Pete Furia at furia@virginia.edu no later than 5PM on Friday, April 6th, 2018. Application materials should include the following:

An unofficial copy of your most recent transcript.

A three-page (double-spaced) statement explaining your proposed research topic, as well any relevant abilities that you plan to utilize in conducting that research. The admissions committee will look particularly favorably upon applications that propose a preliminary research question, explain why that research question is of personal and general interest, and discuss practicable methods of answering the question over the course of your thesis year.

A one-page list of works relevant to your proposed research question or topic.

Two confidential letters of recommendation by faculty members submitted directly to the DMP faculty director, Prof. Pete Furia (furia@virginia.edu). At least one of these letters should be from among Politics faculty. Try to familiarize your recommenders with your proposed research so that they might comment on its significance and on your competence to undertake it.

Deadline

Declared Politics majors should submit complete application files to Pete Furia no later than 5 PM on Friday, April 6th, 2018. Special arrangements may be made for outstanding transfer students on an ad hoc basis. The admissions committee will begin reviewing files immediately, with the hope of notifying students of decisions by April 15th.

Politics Requirements

Students in the DMP must maintain grade point averages of 3.4 or better, both cumulatively and in the department.

Requirements of the DMP

Students in the DMP must take at least 30 hours in the major. These 30 hours must include:

Courses to satisfy general departmental distribution rules for Government or Foreign Affairs majors.

The DMP Seminar

In the fall semester, members of the DMP will meet regularly to discuss issues related to conceptualizing, researching, and writing social-science theses. In the spring semester, members of the DMP will present their preliminary hypotheses and findings to the seminar.

The DMP Thesis

Students in the DMP are required to write a thesis of high quality, earning six credits, during the fourth year. The thesis seminar, PLAD 4960/PLAD 4961, is a year-long course, carrying six credit hours, with the option of taking the first three credits credit/no credit. Students are responsible for obtaining a faculty member to serve as their thesis advisor for both semesters of the course.

Complete first drafts of theses are typically due during the last week of March. The final deadline for completed theses, reflecting all revisions, is typically in the third week of April, on a date set each year by the director.

Program Evaluations

Students who successfully complete the requirements of the DMP will be evaluated based on the following: (1) quality of the thesis, (2) overall work in major field of study, (3) overall College record.

Faculty thesis readers will forward evaluations to the Department's DMP faculty director, who will review the evaluations and students' records, and forward recommendations to the College Committee on Special Programs.

Superior theses will be nominated by faculty advisors for the Emmerich-Wright Prize, which is given annually to the outstanding thesis.

Where can I find the official academic requirements for the University?

The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. The Undergraduate Record and Graduate Record represent the official repository for academic program requirements. These publications may be found at http://records.ureg.virginia.edu/index.php.